


apartment 512

by guineaDogs



Series: ...and they were neighbors [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28102155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guineaDogs/pseuds/guineaDogs
Summary: Shiro loved his apartment complex. It was perfect in every way... until he got a new upstairs neighbor. He doesn't know what they're doing up there, but it's loud, and eventually Shiro has no option but to give them what for.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: ...and they were neighbors [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085561
Comments: 32
Kudos: 102





	apartment 512

**Author's Note:**

> This was a very brief twitter thread back in August that I completely forgot about until it showed up in my notifs again. And of course, instead of working on any of the massive projects that I've been actively worried about finishing on time, I wrote another short fic. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Shiro liked his apartment complex, and found it ideal in every way: it was only a ten minute commute to work, there were a plethora of shops and eateries within walking distance, a park, and that didn’t even cover any of the amenities covered by the complex itself. He’d be doing a disservice if he didn’t mention the gym and heated pool, or the number of utilities bundled into his rent for his convenience.

It was just  _ so nice. _

It was even quiet as far as apartment complexes went. He was very fortunate in having quiet neighbors. A few of them were seniors, some were families with older children, but none of them were loud enough in the late hours of the night that it was ever an issue. That alone was yet another thing that he was forever appreciative of. 

After all, when he was constantly in sleep debt and had to begin preparing for the day at four in the morning, it was a relief that he could promptly pass out as soon as possible and not be disturbed until his alarm relentlessly beeped.

That was until his new neighbor moved into 512. Shiro didn’t know who they were or what they looked like. He didn’t know whether it was a single person, a couple, a family, or an army of sentient garden gnomes who marched around practicing battle formations at one in the morning. The only thing he knew with absolute certainty was ever since the occupants moved into the unit directly above his, there was excessive noise.

Shiro considered himself to be a kind and patient man. The first week of noise was inconvenient, but he could excuse it. His new neighbors were probably unpacking. Perhaps they had jobs that had them away from home all day, and the evenings and late into the night were the only times they had to get themselves situated. Having a schedule like his, he could understand that.

But the issue was that it continued. 

It wasn’t that Shiro was  _ old _ but not being able to get to sleep, or being woken up in the middle of the night, very quickly had an impact. The disruption in his sleep schedule meant he was exhausted and groggy when he began his days, and his morning workouts and work performance suffered considerably. It also just felt awful. Not enough sleep made Shiro irritable, more dependent on caffeine, and more likely to get headaches if he didn’t get enough of it.

It all came to a head one evening. He’d been perfectly reasonable for so long; the last thing he wanted was to create an enemy of a new neighbor, or to be perceived as being someone uptight and unreasonable. But there was just only so much he could take. 

The thumping and clattering wasn’t just the occasional disturbance. It sounded like they were using the living room floor for  _ bowling. _

Naturally, he had no choice but to confront them about it. Sighing heavily, he took the stairs to the next floor, running through all the scenarios for things he was going to say. He wanted to be polite. Restrained. Not completely lay into this person or persons for being terribly inconsiderate. 

When he made it to the fifth floor, he walked down the long hallway until he came upon the door with a gold  _ 512 _ affixed to it. He rapped upon it, and didn’t have to wait long at all. The sound of movement inside was apparent in the hallway was it was downstairs in the comfort of his own home. 

Shiro didn’t know what to expect. Most realistically, it was probably a family with small children, or a gaggle of too many college kids piled into what was probably a one bedroom apartment. When his new neighbor turned out to be a man with a dog much larger than was probably allowed, things made a little more sense.

Or they would, eventually.

Because when the door opened, Shiro couldn’t process much beyond the fact that he was face-to-face with the most beautiful man he’d ever seen in his life. Simply put, he was awestruck. Unfortunately that meant that for a moment, he found himself at a loss of words.

“Yeah?” The man was dressed casually– just a worn Marduk t-shirt and leggings, long black hair tied back in a loose braid–and looking at Shiro like he had absolutely no idea why anyone would ever find it necessary to knock upon his door. Perhaps he didn’t. “You’re not the GrubHub guy, what do you want?”

“I–” Shiro cleared his throat. He was supposed to be conveying his frustration about the noise levels, not ogling. “You have a dog.” Because instead of getting to the crux of the matter, it made complete sense to make things more awkward by noticing the very large, very fluffy canine further in the living room. 

The dog stood on a loveseat, watching him. That changed when the cushion beneath his feet gave way, allowing a large red ball to bounce onto the hardwood floor. Immediately, the dog sprung after it, pushing the couch backwards in the process. The couch legs scraped against the floor, and being able to witness this was enough to explain some of the mysterious, irritating sounds he’d been hearing.

“Yeah, and?” The man sounded impatient. How could he not? There was a strange man standing in front of his door, staring and being weird, god damn it–

“Um. I’m Shiro. I’m your neighbor downstairs. And, well–” Well, apparently getting to the bottom of things was much harder when talking to someone attractive. “I wanted to talk to you, because I have very early mornings and sometimes you’re… kind of loud.”

The man’s demeanor changed immediately. His cheeks flushed, his demeanor became less defensive and more apologetic. “Oh. Oh  _ shit _ , I had no idea. I’m sorry. We’ll keep it down.” He looked over his shoulder, giving the dog a pointed look before returning his attention to Shiro. “Hopefully we didn’t disturb you too much.”

Shiro was an honest man, but a little white lie didn’t hurt, especially if the man followed through. “Not too much,” Shiro assured him. 

He looked relieved. “Keith, by the way,” he said abruptly. Rather than holding his hand out, he rubbed at the back of his neck, not quite looking at Shiro. “I feel bad. I just moved in and the last thing I wanted to do was make everyone–” He paused, opting to not finish the thought. “Can I make it up to you? Get you a coffee before you head to work? What time do you usually leave?”

Oh no. Keith was  _ cute. _ “Five.” Shiro noticed the immediate blanched expression and rushed to reassure him. “I know it’s early, so really, you don’t have–”

“No. But I’m gonna. Let me give you my number.”

Shiro watched Keith disappear into his apartment to find a pen and paper. Maybe, just maybe, having a noisy upstairs neighbor wasn’t  _ completely _ terrible.

**Author's Note:**

> always down to talk sheiths on twitter, hmu @ guineaDogs


End file.
